System and Method of Automatically Connecting A Mobile Communication Device to A Network using A Communications Resource Database

• US 20110013569A1
• Filed: 08/28/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WEFI Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WeFi, Inc.
• Inventors: Scherzer, Shimon, Assa, Ronny, Noy, Lilach Kornblit, Scherzer, Tamir, Lifchuk, Yariv
• Granted Patent: US 8,750,265 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/14 using user query or user detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A system, method, and computer program product of automatically connecting a mobile communication device to a communication network using a network resource classification database includes detecting a communication network access point using the mobile communication device and reporting network attributes associated with the access point to a resource classification server. The server analyzes and stores the network attributes, determines auxiliary data related to the access point, and uses a rules database to determine a category identifier associated with the access point. The server creates a resource classification characterizing the access point based upon the network attributes, auxiliary data, and category identifier. The mobile communication device queries the server, receives a resource classification, and connects to an access point based upon the received resource classification.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of automatically connecting a mobile communication device to a network using a network resource classification database, the method comprising:

detecting at least one communication network access point using the mobile communication device;

reporting network attributes associated with the at least one communication network access point;

querying the network resource classification database by the mobile communication device, the network resource classification database including at least one of the network attributes of the at least one detected communication network access point, auxiliary data related to at least one of the communication network access point and the hotspot, and a category identification of at least one of the detected network access point and a hotspot, wherein the hotspot includes the location where the network access point is located;

receiving, by the mobile communication device, a resource classification characterizing the at least one detected network access point and at least one hotspot; and

connecting the mobile communication device to the network access point based upon the received resource classification.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein the category identifier includes at least one of intentionally free wireless Internet access, paid Internet access, home wireless Internet access, office wireless Internet and local access, guest wireless Internet access, contracted ISP Internet access, and cellular carrier Internet access.

5. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the network to which the mobile communication device is connected includes at least one of a Wi-Fi network and a cellular communication network.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile communications device includes at least one of a smart phone, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, and a cellular handset.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a communication network access point includes scanning a radio neighborhood with the mobile communication device to evaluate network access points.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a communication network access point further includes:

associating with the network access point to receive network information;

accessing the network based upon the received network information; and

determining network attributes based upon the accessed network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determined network attributes include at least one of SSID, MAC address, external IP, gateway IP, and DNS.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of SSID, MAC address, external IP, gateway IP, and DNS is used to determine an owner of the access point network.

11. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the reported network attributes include at least one of SSID, radio MAC address, average and variance of signal strength as measured through multiple connections, external IP, Gateway IP, DNS server, number of connected users per time period, encryption type, whether Internet access had been verified, type of login, amount of data delivered, date first detected, date last detected, average and variance of data speed as measured through mobile connections, owning organization, location, geographical coordinates, street address, IP location, information source, detecting terminal, user name, external database, average and variance of users'"'"' connection time as calculated over multiple connections, WISPr login details.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

relaying, by the mobile communication device, the location of the mobile communication device; and

inquiring, by the mobile communication device, about local network communication access points at the location of the mobile communication device that have been classified.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting the mobile communication device includes:

connecting to a network resource that has been classified based upon the received resource classification.

18. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein the auxiliary data classification is generated by search engine data applied to at least one of the access point attributes and attributes of the hotspot to further characterize the access point and the hotspot.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the classification search engine includes at least one of a chamber of commerce search engine, a consumer review search engine and a business characterization search engine.

20. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein the auxiliary data includes establishment characteristics of the network access point and hotspot.

21. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein the auxiliary data includes an owner'"'"'s approval of the Wi-Fi hotspot use for the public.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the establishment characteristics include at least one of a type of establishment, location address, indication whether the establishment is part of a chain of establishments, business registration number, size of establishment, hours of operation, demography served, year established, and proximity to an educational facility.

23. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein creating the resource classification includes determining a performance characteristic and a type associated with the network access point and hotspot.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the performance characteristic includes at least one of average data speed, variance of data speed, average operational distance of the network access point, probability of a connection drop, number of connection trials, and number and duration of unique connections in a predetermined time period.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the type includes at least one of the nature of the hosting establishment where the hotspot is located, whether the access point is locked or open, whether the access point is accessed free-of-charge or for a fee, whether the access point is directly accessible by a mobile communication device or via a landing page, and whether the access point is owned or operated by an Internet Service Provider.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting the network attributes associated with the at least one communication network access point includes executing an out- of-band connection over at least one of a cellular data channel and a Wi-Fi resource.

28. The method of claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein the resource classification includes a determination whether the access point is an intentionally public network resource.

42. The method in claim 1 or 2 or 41, wherein a resource is identified by at least one of MAC address or SSID.

44. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

relaying, by the mobile communication device, the location of the mobile communication device; and

inquiring, by the mobile communication device, about local network communication access points that have been classified at the location of the mobile communication device.

2. A computer-implemented method of classifying wireless network resources, the method comprising:

receiving at least one network attribute at a resource classification server, the network attribute associated with a detected network'"'"'s access points in at least one hotspot location;

analyzing the network attribute associated with the network access points and the at least one hotspot location;

determining auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the analyzed network attributes;

applying hotspot characterization rules to the network attributes and to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot; and

determining a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the at least one hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

creating a resource classification characterizing at least one of the detected network access point and the hotspot, the resource classification including at least one of the received network attributes, the auxiliary data, and the category identifier.

4. The method of claim 2 or 41, wherein the auxiliary data includes a list of establishments and their locations and the method further comprises checking availability of Wi-Fi resources with a user terminal at an establishment location.

14. The method of claim 2 or 41, further comprising:

selecting a resource classification characterizing network access points at a location of a mobile communication device; and

transferring the resource classification characterizing network access points to the mobile communication device.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein analyzing the stored network attributes includes:

determining a geographical location of the detected network access point as a hotspot;

and storing the determined hotspot in a mapped hotspots database.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the geographical location includes at least one of global positioning data, a cell based location, and an IP location, and wherein the cell-based location includes a location calculated based on the location of cellular base stations.

27. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the at least one network attribute associated with the detected network access point includes executing an out-of-band connection over at least one of a cellular data channel and a Wi-Fi resource.

30. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

storing the received network attributes data in an access points database.

31. The method of claim 2 or 41 further comprising:

storing the auxiliary data related to the network access point in an auxiliary database.

32. The method of claim 2 or 41 further comprising:

storing the rules in a rules database.

33. The method of claim 2 or 41 further comprising:

storing the category identifier in a hotspots category database.

34. The method of claim 2 or 41 further comprising:

storing the resource classification in a resource classification database.

35. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the access points database, the auxiliary data, and the hotspot characterization rules are provided by a third-party resource provider.

36. The method of claim 35 or 43, wherein the third-party resource provider includes at least one of ISP, cellular carrier, education institute, hotel chain, and store chain.

45. The method of claim 2 or 41 further comprising:

selecting a resource classification characterizing network access points at a location of a mobile communication device; and

transferring the resource classification characterizing network access points to the mobile communication device.

12. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

37. A computer-readable storage media for automatically connecting a mobile communication device to a network using a network resource classification database, the computer-readable storage media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the operations comprising:

detecting at least one communication network access point using the mobile communication device;

reporting network attributes associated with the at least one communication network access point;

querying the network resource classification database by the mobile communication device, the network resource classification database including the network attributes of the at least one detected communication network access point, auxiliary data related to at least one of the at least one communication network access point and the hotspot, and a category identification of at least one of the at least one detected network access point and a hotspot, wherein the hotspot includes the location where the network access point is located;

receiving, by the mobile communication device, a resource classification characterizing the at least one detected network access point as at least one hotspot; and

connecting the mobile communication device to the at least one hotspot based upon the received resource classification.

38. A computer-readable storage media for classifying wireless network resources, the computer-readable storage media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the operations comprising:

receiving at least one network attribute at a resource classification server, the network attribute associated with a detected network'"'"'s access points in at least one hotspot location;

analyzing the network attribute associated with the network access point and the at least one hotspot location;

determining auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the analyzed network attributes;

applying hotspot characterization rules to the network attributes and to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot;

determining a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the at least one hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

creating and storing a resource classification database record in a resource classification database characterizing at least one of the detected network access point and the hotspot, the database record in the resource classification database including the received network attributes, the auxiliary data, and the category identifier.

39. A system for automatically connecting to a network, the system comprising:

a mobile communication device configured to;

detect at least one communication network access point;

report network attributes associated with the at least one communication network access point;

query the network resource classification database, the network resource classification database including the network attributes of the at least one detected communication network access point, auxiliary data related to at least one of the at least one communication network access point and the hotspot, and a category identification of at least one of the at least one detected network access point and a hotspot, wherein the hotspot includes the location where the network access point is located;

receive a resource classification characterizing the at least one detected network access point as at least one hotspot; and

connect to the network access point based upon the received resource classification.

40. A system for classifying wireless network resources, the system comprising:

a resource classification server configured to;

receive at least one network attribute, the network attribute associated with a detected network'"'"'s access points in at least one hotspot location;

analyze the network attribute associated with the network access points and the at least one hotspot location;

determine auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the analyzed network attributes;

apply hotspot characterization rules to the network attributes and to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot;

determine a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the at least one hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

create and store a resource classification database record in a resource classification database characterizing at least one of the detected network access point and the hotspot, the database record in the resource classification database including the received network attributes, the auxiliary data, and the category identifier.

41. A computer-implemented method of classifying wireless network resources, the method comprising:

receiving auxiliary data related to at least one of a network access point and a hotspot location;

analyzing the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot location;

applying hotspot characterization rules to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot; and

determining a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

creating a resource classification characterizing at least one of the network access point and the hotspot, the resource classification including at least one of the auxiliary data and the category identifier.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein at least one of the auxiliary data and the hotspot characterization rules are provided by a third-party resource provider.

46. A computer-readable storage media for classifying wireless network resources, the computer-readable storage media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the operations comprising:

receiving auxiliary data related to at least one of a network access point and a hotspot location;

analyzing the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot location;

applying hotspot characterization rules to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot; and

determining a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

creating a resource classification characterizing at least one of the network access point and the hotspot, the resource classification including at least one of the auxiliary data and the category identifier.

47. A system for classifying wireless network resources, the system comprising:

a resource classification server configured to;

receive auxiliary data related to at least one of a network access point and a hotspot location;

analyze the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot location;

apply hotspot characterization rules to the auxiliary data related to at least one of the network access point and the hotspot; and

determine a category identifier associated with at least one of the network access point and the hotspot based upon the applied hotspot characterization rules and the auxiliary data; and

create a resource classification characterizing at least one of the network access point and the hotspot, the resource classification including at least one of the auxiliary data and the category identifier.